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May 9, 2015 • Vol. IXX • No. 10 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
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Inside
Hospital Celebrates Milestone With $42M ER When construction ends on a new emergency department for one of Minnesota’s premier heart hospitals; staff, donors and patients will have two reasons to celebrate. Not only will Fairview Southdale Hospital open its doors to an emergency department four times larger than its predecessor, it also will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The 100 year-old Knutson Construction Company with offices in Wayzata and Rochester, Minn., two in Iowa and one in Wisconsin, took on the $42 million project. With an employee base of 500 and experience in 18 states, Knutson specializes in building major facilities in the health care, government and education industries. Fairview Southdale Hospital is located in Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis at the crossroads of TH 62 and France Avenue, a high volume four lane highway and a four lane city arterial. The eight story, 500,000 sq. ft. (45,000 sq m) multispecialty hospital is known for its
IAAP Kicks Off 47th Annual Convention...12
FA BCO Welcomes Guests to Season Opener...16
see HOSPITAL page 102
By April, 2014, the new Carl T. Platou Emergency Department begins taking shape in front of Fairview Southdale Hospital. TH 62, which carries approximately 100,000 vehicles per day, can be seen in the upper right hand corner.
Tri -St ate Bobca t Open New Faci lit y.. .40
Table of Contents ........4 Attachments Section ................................41-66 Paving Section ....89-101 Auction Section ............................106-119 Business Calendar....114 Advertisers Index ....118
Construction Firms Add ARTBA Warns DOT Jobs in 41 States Over Year of Job Cost Increases A U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) pilot program that would allow state and local transportation agencies to utilize local hiring preferences on federal-aid highway and transit projects will increase costs, decrease competition, and could actually result in less frequent hiring of minorities and women, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced the one-year pilot program on March 3. The agency said allowing the local preferences will enable “disadvantaged workers in the communities where projects are located to benefit from the economic opportunities such projects represent.” State or local transportation agencies would need to initiate a hiring preference and seek approval from see ARTBA page 117
Even as construction firms added jobs in 41 states between March 2014 and March 2015, construction employment declined in 29 states and the District of Columbia between February and March, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that ongoing D.C. gridlock over how to pay for needed infrastructure improvements and declining demand for oil-related projects likely contributed to so many states shedding construction jobs in March. "While the year-over-year data remains relatively positive, it is troubling to see so many states losing
construction jobs during the past month," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "As energy firms cancel or delay projects and Congressional action on transportation and other infrastructure measures remains stalled, many construction firms appear to be reducing headcount, at least temporarily." California added more new construction jobs (46,300 jobs, 6.9 percent) between March 2014 and March 2015 than any other state. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months included Texas (39,300 jobs, 6.2 percent), Florida (37,400 jobs, 9.7 percent), see EMPLOYMENT page 117